Does anyone have any experience with the HF Mill #33686-4VGA? Thanks..John

John,

Does anyone have any experience with the HF Mill #33686-4VGA? Thanks..John

I don't specifically know about the HF version of it, but I have that
basic machine and am extremely happy with it. IMHO, an ER collet set is
a must for a mill-drill.

Have you read through some old posts on this group? Please do so.
Those who argue in favor of knee mills have a point.

One option to consider is a mill-drill with a dovetailed column. I have
no direct knowledge of how well they work, but others here will. One
scary thought is that I saw a _minimum_ spindle/table spec on such a
machine, and IIRC, it was around 10 inches!!! Hopefully that is with
the spindle retracted, but it raises a question about whether it can
handle thin work clamped just above the table??[*] Not everything fits
in a vise, but many things do; get a good milling machine vise
regardless of the type of machine you buy.

There are also smaller knee mills, but they tend to have limited max
spindle/table clearance.

Whatever you buy, ask about the table motion per dial revolution. Mine
is 0.1 inch per turn, but some machines apparently have 0.125 inch/turn
(would drive me nuts - I think), and IIRC, some big mills have 0.2
inch/turn, which would be ok (if not better) by me, because one could
always count in tenths at have revolutions, or by two-tenths for large
movements.
[*] Please do not take my word for any of this - check the facts for
yourself.

Good luck!

Bill

On Sun, 11 Dec 2005 14:13:52 -0500, "John"
wrote:

Does anyone have any experience with the HF Mill #33686-4VGA? Thanks..John

Had one similar, ran it for almost ten years without major problems.
BIggest drawback with any mill drill and round column, if you can't
get a balance in your tooling, you're going to do a lot of indicating
to get things on center after raising/lowering the head. Another
poster queried the spindle/table minimum, I don't remember it ever
causing any problem, but there were times I wished the maximum was
more.

The HF is identical to the one I had, including the cheesy handwheels,
I made new ones, even that not a problem. I also added thrust
bearings to both ends of the longitudinal lead screw, made it a lot
nicer to operate. The thrust bearing retainer for the find downfeed
is plastic, but it was seven years before I had to make one out of
metal to replace it.

Mill vise is important, a 4" works about perfectly for the size of the
machine. The machine has more power than you can use, one horse would
be perfectly adequate. Tuned up and deburred, it's quite capable of
doing respectable work, but this ain't no Milwaukee vertical.
Sometimes lighter cuts than you really want to take are called for.
Making sure the column is square with the table is also a must, if it
ain't, put shims in until it is.

Rich

"Bill Schwab" wrote in message
nk.net...
Whatever you buy, ask about the table motion per dial revolution. Mine is
0.1 inch per turn, but some machines apparently have 0.125 inch/turn
(would drive me nuts - I think),

My mill (Gorton) has a table motion of .125 for each turn of a hand wheel.
I thought it would be awkward, but it's not really. I got used to it pretty
quickly.

Peter

Peter,

"Bill Schwab" wrote in message
nk.net...

Whatever you buy, ask about the table motion per dial revolution. Mine is
0.1 inch per turn, but some machines apparently have 0.125 inch/turn
(would drive me nuts - I think),


My mill (Gorton) has a table motion of .125 for each turn of a hand wheel.
I thought it would be awkward, but it's not really. I got used to it pretty
quickly.

Fair enough. 0.2 is fairly obvious to me; how do you think your way
around at 0.125/turn?

Bill

"Bill Schwab" wrote in message
news
Peter,

"Bill Schwab" wrote in message
nk.net...

Whatever you buy, ask about the table motion per dial revolution. Mine
is 0.1 inch per turn, but some machines apparently have 0.125 inch/turn
(would drive me nuts - I think),


My mill (Gorton) has a table motion of .125 for each turn of a hand
wheel. I thought it would be awkward, but it's not really. I got used to
it pretty quickly.

Fair enough. 0.2 is fairly obvious to me; how do you think your way
around at 0.125/turn?

I think in increments of .125". One inch is eight turns. .475" is three
turns plus .100".

If I ever get my DROs put together and mounted, then I won't have to think
at all!

Peter

snip


If I ever get my DROs put together and mounted, then I won't have to think
at all!

No thinking at all?? Bad omen.

"John" wrote in message
...
Does anyone have any experience with the HF Mill #33686-4VGA? Thanks..John



I used a similar (maybe identical) HF machine for several years before I got
my Bridgeport. Now, the transition was like swapping a battered Chevy for a
Cadillac. Nonetheless, a battered Chevy will get you where you need to
go...

My HF machine had a power X-axis, which is well worth it. Another trick you
need to do to make it a viable machine is to make some brackets to which you
can easily attach dial indicators. You can't trust the scales on the
machine (not even on a good machine). And it is difficult (and expensive)
to put a DRO on a mill-drill. You don't need expensive dial indicators,
either. Most of the time, you just need to be able to return the table to a
specific position. Or, you make a rough cut, measure it with a caliper and
adjust the table a few thou for the final cut.

When you buy an HF (or similar) machine, you can expect to do a little
"cleaning up" on it. The finish is never the greatest. I have bought a lot
of "stuff" from HF over the years and, while a few things have been junk,
most of it has proven to be very satisfactory. One rule I live by is to
never buy anything from HF with an edge on it, because it won't retain it
for long.

Another thing you will quickly learn is that you can't even drive past a
tool store without you wallet automatically emptying. But, have faith.
Eventually you will accumulate a set of tools that will do what you need
(different people have different needs, so it is hard to predict what yours
might be...) and the outgo slows down dramatically...

Another tip on these small machines: Some are called "milling and drilling"
machines, others are "drilling and milling" machines. The latter are
glorified drill presses that can do "some" light milling. The former are
more like "real" mills. ALL machines (even the best) are basically made of
Jello and the lighter ones are made of WARM Jello... Although I don't see
them on the current web site, HF normally carries several similar machines,
ranging from light duty to heavier ones. I would definitely put the extra
bucks into the big fellow...

Jerry

"Peter Grey" wrote in message
nk.net...



"Bill Schwab" wrote in message
nk.net...
Whatever you buy, ask about the table motion per dial revolution. Mine
is
0.1 inch per turn, but some machines apparently have 0.125 inch/turn
(would drive me nuts - I think),

My mill (Gorton) has a table motion of .125 for each turn of a hand wheel.
I thought it would be awkward, but it's not really. I got used to it
pretty
quickly.

Peter



Indeed! Here in the States, we do most things by the inch, so that
calibration is in keeping with our measuring system. You learn to count in
eighths.

Gorton sure made some nice machines!

Harold

Peter Grey wrote:
"Bill Schwab" wrote in message
nk.net...

Whatever you buy, ask about the table motion per dial revolution. Mine is
0.1 inch per turn, but some machines apparently have 0.125 inch/turn
(would drive me nuts - I think),


My mill (Gorton) has a table motion of .125 for each turn of a hand wheel.
I thought it would be awkward, but it's not really. I got used to it pretty
quickly.

Peter


Ditto. My KBC A1S knee mill has 8 pitch leadscrews (0.125" per turn)
also. It seems strange at first, but you do get used to it rather
quickly. No big deal, really, though a 0.1" or 0.2" per turn screws are
easier to use at first.

Dan Mitchell
============

Please forgive my intrusion into this thread without my
knowing all the details. Our news server has been down
for several day! I recently compared the lower-end
mill/drill machines from Harbor Freight, Northern Tools
and Wholesale Tools. I ended up purchasing the Wholesale
Tools Geared-Head machine viewable at:
http://wttool.com/p/3006-0075
This is a really heavy duty, quality product. They have
the same machine on sale at $995 with the only difference
being the $995 version has a 120 volt motor and the $1095
machine has a 240 volt motor. These are really in a
class by themselves. The machines from Northern and
Harbor Freight are no where near the quality of those
from WTTOOLS, in my opinion. I was able to visit their
showroom in Charlotte, NC, view the machines, and haul
it home. Everything about the mill/drill was very tight,
no slop in any of the gearing, very accurate (haven't done
a real tight run-out yet). The only problem I had was
that they had to send me an R8 drawbar. It came with
a 4" machinist vise and a 2" face mill. They also gave
me a set of R8 colletts. It really is
far superior to either of the other machines I compared.
Also, don't worry about the "Table graduations are .05mm"
as it also has decimal thousandths graduations as well.
For what it's worth. sdh.

Daniel A. Mitchell wrote:
Peter Grey wrote:

"Bill Schwab" wrote in message
nk.net...

Whatever you buy, ask about the table motion per dial revolution.
Mine is 0.1 inch per turn, but some machines apparently have 0.125
inch/turn (would drive me nuts - I think),



My mill (Gorton) has a table motion of .125 for each turn of a hand
wheel. I thought it would be awkward, but it's not really. I got used
to it pretty quickly.

Peter

Ditto. My KBC A1S knee mill has 8 pitch leadscrews (0.125" per turn)
also. It seems strange at first, but you do get used to it rather
quickly. No big deal, really, though a 0.1" or 0.2" per turn screws are
easier to use at first.

Dan Mitchell
============

How did you compare them? Were you able to touch all the machines?

Peter


"Steve Hopper" wrote in message
...
Please forgive my intrusion into this thread without my
knowing all the details. Our news server has been down
for several day! I recently compared the lower-end
mill/drill machines from Harbor Freight, Northern Tools
and Wholesale Tools. I ended up purchasing the Wholesale
Tools Geared-Head machine viewable at:
http://wttool.com/p/3006-0075
This is a really heavy duty, quality product. They have
the same machine on sale at $995 with the only difference
being the $995 version has a 120 volt motor and the $1095
machine has a 240 volt motor. These are really in a
class by themselves. The machines from Northern and
Harbor Freight are no where near the quality of those
from WTTOOLS, in my opinion. I was able to visit their
showroom in Charlotte, NC, view the machines, and haul
it home. Everything about the mill/drill was very tight,
no slop in any of the gearing, very accurate (haven't done
a real tight run-out yet). The only problem I had was
that they had to send me an R8 drawbar. It came with
a 4" machinist vise and a 2" face mill. They also gave
me a set of R8 colletts. It really is
far superior to either of the other machines I compared.
Also, don't worry about the "Table graduations are .05mm"
as it also has decimal thousandths graduations as well.
For what it's worth. sdh.

Daniel A. Mitchell wrote:
Peter Grey wrote:

"Bill Schwab" wrote in message
nk.net...

Whatever you buy, ask about the table motion per dial revolution. Mine
is 0.1 inch per turn, but some machines apparently have 0.125 inch/turn
(would drive me nuts - I think),



My mill (Gorton) has a table motion of .125 for each turn of a hand
wheel. I thought it would be awkward, but it's not really. I got used
to it pretty quickly.

Peter

Ditto. My KBC A1S knee mill has 8 pitch leadscrews (0.125" per turn)
also. It seems strange at first, but you do get used to it rather
quickly. No big deal, really, though a 0.1" or 0.2" per turn screws are
easier to use at first.

Dan Mitchell
============

Yes. I was able to touch and feel each of them. Even
convinced the salespeople to plug them up and turn them
on. sdh.

Peter Grey wrote:
How did you compare them? Were you able to touch all the machines?

Peter


"Steve Hopper" wrote in message
...

Please forgive my intrusion into this thread without my
knowing all the details. Our news server has been down
for several day! I recently compared the lower-end
mill/drill machines from Harbor Freight, Northern Tools
and Wholesale Tools. I ended up purchasing the Wholesale
Tools Geared-Head machine viewable at:
http://wttool.com/p/3006-0075
This is a really heavy duty, quality product. They have
the same machine on sale at $995 with the only difference
being the $995 version has a 120 volt motor and the $1095
machine has a 240 volt motor. These are really in a
class by themselves. The machines from Northern and
Harbor Freight are no where near the quality of those
from WTTOOLS, in my opinion. I was able to visit their
showroom in Charlotte, NC, view the machines, and haul
it home. Everything about the mill/drill was very tight,
no slop in any of the gearing, very accurate (haven't done
a real tight run-out yet). The only problem I had was
that they had to send me an R8 drawbar. It came with
a 4" machinist vise and a 2" face mill. They also gave
me a set of R8 colletts. It really is
far superior to either of the other machines I compared.
Also, don't worry about the "Table graduations are .05mm"
as it also has decimal thousandths graduations as well.
For what it's worth. sdh.

Daniel A. Mitchell wrote:

Peter Grey wrote:


"Bill Schwab" wrote in message
thlink.net...


Whatever you buy, ask about the table motion per dial revolution. Mine
is 0.1 inch per turn, but some machines apparently have 0.125 inch/turn
(would drive me nuts - I think),



My mill (Gorton) has a table motion of .125 for each turn of a hand
wheel. I thought it would be awkward, but it's not really. I got used
to it pretty quickly.

Peter


Ditto. My KBC A1S knee mill has 8 pitch leadscrews (0.125" per turn)
also. It seems strange at first, but you do get used to it rather
quickly. No big deal, really, though a 0.1" or 0.2" per turn screws are
easier to use at first.

Dan Mitchell
============

Steve Hopper wrote:

Please forgive my intrusion into this thread without my
knowing all the details. Our news server has been down
for several day! I recently compared the lower-end
mill/drill machines from Harbor Freight, Northern Tools
and Wholesale Tools. I ended up purchasing the Wholesale
Tools Geared-Head machine viewable at:
http://wttool.com/p/3006-0075


Here's a new concept: http://wttool.com/p/3006-0085
A swivelling table, Now I'm going to wonder all night what advantage
it has over a fixed table.. (Tapered slots?)
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